Walker County
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member ggmorton
N 30° 43.399 W 095° 33.032
15R E 255771 N 3401717
A marker about Walker County that is on the square in Huntsville.
Waymark Code: WM1AC5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 03/14/2007
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 23

Marker Number: 12282

Marker Text:
The earliest known inhabitants of this area were the Cenis and Bidai (Bedias) Indians. Spanish explorers began to arrive in 1542, followed by the French in 1687. The area was thinly populated by Spanish and Mexican settlers until the early 1830s when colonists came from the United States. Brothers Pleasant and Ephraim Gray established a trading post near this site about 1835 or 1836, naming it for their home in Huntsville, Alabama. The region was included in neighboring counties until Walker County was created by the First Legislature of the State of Texas in 1846; it was named for U. S. Senator Robert J. Walker, who introduced legislation for Texas' annexation. The state penitentiary was established at Huntsville in 1849. Agricultural products, primarily cotton, were shipped out by steamboat from the late 1840s. When the Civil War began, R. J. Walker declined to support the Confederacy. The Texas Legislature renamed the county in 1863 for Texas Ranger Samuel H. Walker. Martial law was declared in the county for 60 days in 1871 because of Reconstruction-era racial violence. With the arrival of the railroads in the 1870s, depot towns flourished. Huntsville narrowly avoided the fate of other towns bypassed by the railroads when residents hurriedly raised funds to build a spur. Cotton never regained its pre-Civil War stature, and lumber and livestock became important businesses in the 20th century. The heritage of Walker County, from Native Americans to frontier settlers and U. S. Citizens, is one of independent spirit and determination. (1999)


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Recent Visits/Logs:
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jhuoni visited Walker County 03/27/2018 jhuoni visited it
WalksfarTX visited Walker County 03/03/2017 WalksfarTX visited it
Benchmark Blasterz visited Walker County 12/26/2012 Benchmark Blasterz visited it
oneoldman visited Walker County 05/08/2008 oneoldman visited it
ggmorton visited Walker County 03/12/2007 ggmorton visited it

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